At an equestrian forum held in Homoródfürdő, János Árpád Potápi, the State Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office responsible for national policy, announced the support of one hundred million forints for equestrian sports in Székelyföld.

The state secretary said: within the framework of the program, all registered equestrian associations of Székelyföld will receive between two and seven million forints of support , from which they can carry out developments that they would have been able to do on their own in only two to three or even five years. He also added that, according to his hopes, the support that can also be used for the development of human resources is the first step in a long process. For the 28 equestrian associations of Székelyföld, the grant amounts were determined based on the data of a previously conducted survey. When the associations filled out the questionnaire, they did not know that they would receive support based on the provided data.

János Árpád Potápi emphasized that more and more attention is being paid to sports in national politics, and this has led to the fact that 101 years after the Trianon decision, we can now speak of a unified Carpathian basin in sports as well. He mentioned: the football teams of Székelyföld, Felvidék, and Vojvodina with Hungarian ties perform well in their countries' leagues, and Transylvanian clubs perform outstandingly in the ice hockey Erste League.

The state secretary also mentioned that supporting equestrian sports is also important because the horse is part of the Hungarian identity. According to some assumptions, the different Asian tribes formed an alliance in the process of domesticating the horse, which was then named Hungarian. He added that the horse-riding nomadic lifestyle led the Hungarians to the Carpathian Basin as well.

Péter Makkai , the State Secretary of the Romanian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, stated in his speech that he supported the initiative to include equestrian therapists and horsemen in the register of professions in Romania.

Csaba Borboly , the president of the Hargita county municipality, said: equestrian life in Székelyföld has reached a higher level of professionalization. The number of people who make a living from it is increasing. According to him, this also means that there is a future for horse breeding and equestrian sports in the countryside.

Source: erdely.ma

(Cover image: vagta.hu)